DA urges passage of bill he says will protect crime victims, restore judicial discretion
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow.
– San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow is urging the California Legislature to pass Assembly Bill 46, which he said would address issues in the state’s mental health diversion law.
Dow, who also serves as president of the California District Attorneys Association, said the legislation would restore judicial discretion under Penal Code section 1001.36, the statute governing mental health diversion in criminal cases.
“Victims of violent crime in California deserve to be protected by our laws, not placed in greater danger because those laws are written in a way that forces judges to release dangerous offenders back into our neighborhoods,” Dow said. “Right now, the mental health diversion statute ties the hands of judges, strips them of common-sense discretion, and allows individuals who commit serious and violent crimes—including domestic violence, home invasions, and assaults—to avoid accountability and reoffend. We must fix this law before another victim pays the ultimate price.”
Mental health diversion under Penal Code section 1001.36 was intended to provide treatment instead of incarceration for individuals whose mental illness significantly contributed to their criminal behavior. According to the district attorney’s office, court rulings and statutory limitations now require judges to grant diversion once certain criteria are met, including in cases involving serious or violent crimes.
When a defendant completes diversion, the charge is removed from the individual’s record.
Assembly Bill 46 would allow courts to consider whether a defendant poses a substantial and undue risk to the physical safety of others and whether a proposed treatment plan is clinically appropriate to address the mental health condition that contributed to the offense.
“Diversion should be a carefully monitored path to treatment, not a loophole that gives dangerous offenders a free pass and leaves victims feeling abandoned by the system that promised to protect them,” Dow said.
“As a concerned prosecutor and as President of the California District Attorneys Association, I am sounding the alarm: we cannot wait for another murder, another brutal domestic violence assault, or another devastating home invasion committed by someone who should never have been granted diversion in the first place,” Dow continued. “The Legislature has a moral obligation to act now and fix this statute so that judges can protect our communities and honor the rights and safety of crime victims.”
Dow is urging Californians to contact their State Assemblymember and State Senator to support Assembly Bill 46. He directed residents to the California Legislature’s official websites, assembly.ca.gov and senate.ca.gov, where they can locate their elected representatives and contact them by phone, email, or online form.
The district attorney’s office cited several cases from counties across California in which defendants who had been granted mental health diversion were later charged with violent crimes.
In Sacramento County, a defendant is charged with the stabbing death of a 40-year-old man after being released on mental health diversion related to two violent robberies committed in 2024.
In Fresno County, a defendant is charged with attempted murder after a random stabbing attack on a car dealership employee. The district attorney’s office said the defendant had previously stabbed a 63-year-old homeless woman at a grocery store and was later granted mental health diversion after additional cases involving assault and burglary.
In Stanislaus County, authorities charged a man with killing his girlfriend by striking her with a vehicle while he was on mental health diversion out of Santa Clara County for a carjacking involving an elderly woman. The victim was also the alleged victim in four pending misdemeanor domestic violence cases involving the same defendant.
Several cases cited by the district attorney’s office occurred in Santa Clara County. In one case, a woman who had been granted mental health diversion for carjacking an elderly man later rammed a vehicle into her boyfriend during an argument and then struck a person outside a restaurant, killing him. In another case, a defendant on mental health diversion for carjacking an elderly woman and a juvenile was later arrested for beating two people on separate occasions at a light rail station platform. One of the victims died from the injuries.
In a third Santa Clara County case cited by the district attorney’s office, a defendant on mental health diversion stabbed four people, stole a vehicle from one of the victims, and used it to strike multiple pedestrians, resulting in two deaths. In another case, a defendant on multiple grants of mental health diversion was accused of killing his six-year-old grandson and a niece.
In Butte County, a defendant on mental health diversion for felony assault on a police officer allegedly shot a neighbor to death. The neighbor’s body was found in the street in front of the defendant’s residence, and the defendant was later found with a ghost gun. Authorities reported that behavioral health staff had described the defendant as compliant with medication and performing well in the program. A roommate later reported that the defendant had been behaving oddly and had been off medication for an extended period. The defendant was later committed to a state hospital under a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.
In Placer County, prosecutors charged a man with murder while he was on mental health diversion in Sacramento County for an earlier case involving the beating of an elderly neighbor. The district attorney’s office said the defendant had previously been convicted of murder in Nevada.
In Santa Barbara County, a defendant was granted mental health diversion after beating a 65-year-old developmentally disabled man who was seated on a walker waiting to cross a road. After completing diversion, authorities said the defendant later struck the same victim with a rock and stabbed him in the neck, resulting in injuries that required hospitalization.
In Los Angeles County, a man who had served seven years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury was later charged with attempted murder after stabbing a passerby with a machete. An Orange County court granted mental health diversion in that case, and prosecutors said the defendant later absconded from treatment and stabbed another bystander 34 times with a box cutter outside a convenience store.
Dow said the legislation would restore judicial discretion and allow courts to consider whether a defendant poses a risk to public safety when determining whether diversion is appropriate.
